Charles Baudelaire "the father of modern criticism" is one of the most famous people in French literature. He focuses on the goodness of man and the gentle aspect of nature. He is seen as a man with a bad rap during his time era and was seen as going against public and religious morals. He is not only the most wide read French poet across the globe, but he is a very detailed poet who shows the sins of society in his works.
He was born on April 9, 1821, in Paris, France. His father, Francois Baudelaire, died was a civil servant and an artisit, who died during Charles childhood. After his fathers death his mother remarried to a French ambassador. He had high hopes when he was younger and would ask his mother for money, because he knew that he would be famous for his writings. He studied law and obtained a degree from Lycee Louis le Grande.
He was sent to Calcutta, India in 1821 by his stepfather, this is where he started to write his famous poem, Les Fleurs du Mal. Baudelaire had a mistress, Jeanne Duval. His mother disliked Duval and said that she was "torturing" her son. This made Baudelaire feel like an outcast in his own family and he made a failed suicide attempt at this time.
He participated in the Revolution of 1848 as well as writing columns for the newspaper at that time. He had a bad financial situation and was in serious debt. He often moved into different lodging areas to escape creditors. During this time he took on numerous projects, which he did not have a chance to finish, but he did have time to interpret the workings of Edgar Allen Poe.
During his life he translated many famous poets and paintings which he became famous for later on. He smoked opium frequently which helped to led to his decline in his health along with poverty, stress, and excessive drinking. He suffered from a very severe stroke in 1866 and was paralyzed from the point on. He also suffered from voice impairment that followed after his stroke and soon after he took his last rites with the Catholic Church since he was in such a bad condition. He spent two years of the end of his life in a semi-paralyzed state and ended up dying on August 31, 1867. He is buried in Cimetiere du Montparnasse, Paris.
Statue of Baudelaire by Claudecf
Historical Context of Baudelaire's Time
1830- Louis Phillipe becomes King of France. French Revolution of 1830
1831- Workers began their first uprising with the First Canult Revolt
1839- Pastry War, French troops withdraw from Mexico.
1848- King Louis flees England and Bonaparte starts his first term as president of the French Republic
1851- Bonaparte is the first dicator of the Second French Empire
1854- Crimean War, France and Britain launch war on Russia
1860- Second Opium War, France and Britain attack Beijing
1866- French troops start to withdraw from Mexico
Synopsis of The Flowers of Evil
In the The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire he tries to express beauty on it's own by showing it in different forms such as, death, sin, dreams, losing, and much more. He compares things in two different forms, spleen and ideal. The spleen is all the negative aspects of the world and the ideal is the escaping those negative aspects. Women play a role in many of Baudelaire's poems, and they act as the middle part between the spleen and the ideal. Since Baudelaire was fascinated with Edgar Allen Poe we can find proof of his fascination with his mention of bats, blood, vampires, and etc. All in all, The Flowers of Evil evokes a different type of poetry from it's time period and is uniquely wrriten, which is why the works have become so famous.
Interpretations on parts of The Flowers of Evil
To the Reader
In this poem, Baudelaire makes his true thoughts come alive through the text, representing malevolent images. He shows the ugliness of the world by clouding it in a dark mass of boredom "It's BOREDOM", and once you have reached boredom there is no turning back. His outlook on life is very drab stating that it is "like the poor lush that cannot satisfy." The evil behind boredom is the devil and all his adovcates, "Gangs of demons are boozing in our brain-- ranked, swarming, like a million warrior ants." He was trying to express that once we have given up on life and boredom has us in its grasp that there is no turning back, "You know it well, my reader. This obscence beast chain-smokes yawning for the guillotine."
The Flowers of Evil
Correspondences
In this poem, Baudelaire joins Art and Nature upon the reader by opening their sensory experiences. He describes different sounds, scents, feelings, to get the reader to reproduce his text into mental images. "Perfumes there are as sweet as the oboe's sound, Green as the prairies, fresh as a child's caress,-- and there are others, rich, corrupt, and profound."
Her Hair
In this poem, Baudelaire shows his softer side representing the ectasy of a woman's hair. He represents the different feelings evoked while touching the womans hair and shows us how deeply it touches his soul. "A long time! always! my hand in your hair wills ow the stars of sapphire, pearl, ruby that you be never deaf to my desire." He yearns for this woman to touch her delicate skin and compares it to the sea, "I dream upon your sea of ebony of dazzling sails, of oarsmans, masts, and flames."
A Carcass
In this poem, Baudelaire addresses the death of a woman and showing that no matter how bad her corpse has become she will be immortal, since form is independent of matter. He makes many grotesque imagery to explain the bodys decomposition," The flies buzzed and droned on these bowels of filth where an army of maggots arose." He still describes her beauty as carrying on after death,"Ah then, oh my beauty, explain to the worms who cherish your body so fine, That I amt he keeper for corpses of love of the form, and the essence divine!"
Song of Autumn I
In this poem, Baudelaire uses many examples of symbolism to show death and life throughout the poem. The poem is about a man who has lost touch with humanity and has given up on life. He shows that the man is truly just walking through life, "my heart will only be a red and frozen block." The phrase, "As if they were hastily nailing a coffin today. For whom? -- Yesterday was summer. Now autumn knocks. That mysterious sound is like someone's going away," is a metaphor for the man and how he doesn't even realize he could easily die without his awareness.
Jeanne Duval, Baudelaire's Mistress
Interesting facts about Baudelaire
Baudelaire critiqued many famous people's works such as Manet, Poe, Delacroix, Wagner, Nadar, and much more.
He had a very interesting relationship with his mother where he always tried to win over her affection and approval.
Baudelaire's stepfather wanted him to find a career in law.
He was brough to trial in 1857 for being offense to public and religious morals.
Baudelaire's finances were supervised after he obtained his father's inheritance.
He was forced to delete six poems from The Flowers of Evil and had to pay a fine as well.
He was born on April 9, 1821, in Paris, France. His father, Francois Baudelaire, died was a civil servant and an artisit, who died during Charles childhood. After his fathers death his mother remarried to a French ambassador. He had high hopes when he was younger and would ask his mother for money, because he knew that he would be famous for his writings. He studied law and obtained a degree from Lycee Louis le Grande.
He was sent to Calcutta, India in 1821 by his stepfather, this is where he started to write his famous poem, Les Fleurs du Mal. Baudelaire had a mistress, Jeanne Duval. His mother disliked Duval and said that she was "torturing" her son. This made Baudelaire feel like an outcast in his own family and he made a failed suicide attempt at this time.
He participated in the Revolution of 1848 as well as writing columns for the newspaper at that time. He had a bad financial situation and was in serious debt. He often moved into different lodging areas to escape creditors. During this time he took on numerous projects, which he did not have a chance to finish, but he did have time to interpret the workings of Edgar Allen Poe.
During his life he translated many famous poets and paintings which he became famous for later on. He smoked opium frequently which helped to led to his decline in his health along with poverty, stress, and excessive drinking. He suffered from a very severe stroke in 1866 and was paralyzed from the point on. He also suffered from voice impairment that followed after his stroke and soon after he took his last rites with the Catholic Church since he was in such a bad condition. He spent two years of the end of his life in a semi-paralyzed state and ended up dying on August 31, 1867. He is buried in Cimetiere du Montparnasse, Paris.
Statue of Baudelaire by Claudecf
Historical Context of Baudelaire's Time
1830- Louis Phillipe becomes King of France. French Revolution of 1830
1831- Workers began their first uprising with the First Canult Revolt
1839- Pastry War, French troops withdraw from Mexico.
1848- King Louis flees England and Bonaparte starts his first term as president of the French Republic
1851- Bonaparte is the first dicator of the Second French Empire
1854- Crimean War, France and Britain launch war on Russia
1860- Second Opium War, France and Britain attack Beijing
1866- French troops start to withdraw from Mexico
Synopsis of The Flowers of Evil
In the The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire he tries to express beauty on it's own by showing it in different forms such as, death, sin, dreams, losing, and much more. He compares things in two different forms, spleen and ideal. The spleen is all the negative aspects of the world and the ideal is the escaping those negative aspects. Women play a role in many of Baudelaire's poems, and they act as the middle part between the spleen and the ideal. Since Baudelaire was fascinated with Edgar Allen Poe we can find proof of his fascination with his mention of bats, blood, vampires, and etc. All in all, The Flowers of Evil evokes a different type of poetry from it's time period and is uniquely wrriten, which is why the works have become so famous.
Interpretations on parts of The Flowers of Evil
To the Reader
In this poem, Baudelaire makes his true thoughts come alive through the text, representing malevolent images. He shows the ugliness of the world by clouding it in a dark mass of boredom "It's BOREDOM", and once you have reached boredom there is no turning back. His outlook on life is very drab stating that it is "like the poor lush that cannot satisfy." The evil behind boredom is the devil and all his adovcates, "Gangs of demons are boozing in our brain-- ranked, swarming, like a million warrior ants." He was trying to express that once we have given up on life and boredom has us in its grasp that there is no turning back, "You know it well, my reader. This obscence beast chain-smokes yawning for the guillotine."
Correspondences
In this poem, Baudelaire joins Art and Nature upon the reader by opening their sensory experiences. He describes different sounds, scents, feelings, to get the reader to reproduce his text into mental images. "Perfumes there are as sweet as the oboe's sound, Green as the prairies, fresh as a child's caress,-- and there are others, rich, corrupt, and profound."
Her Hair
In this poem, Baudelaire shows his softer side representing the ectasy of a woman's hair. He represents the different feelings evoked while touching the womans hair and shows us how deeply it touches his soul. "A long time! always! my hand in your hair wills ow the stars of sapphire, pearl, ruby that you be never deaf to my desire." He yearns for this woman to touch her delicate skin and compares it to the sea, "I dream upon your sea of ebony of dazzling sails, of oarsmans, masts, and flames."
A Carcass
In this poem, Baudelaire addresses the death of a woman and showing that no matter how bad her corpse has become she will be immortal, since form is independent of matter. He makes many grotesque imagery to explain the bodys decomposition," The flies buzzed and droned on these bowels of filth where an army of maggots arose." He still describes her beauty as carrying on after death,"Ah then, oh my beauty, explain to the worms who cherish your body so fine, That I amt he keeper for corpses of love of the form, and the essence divine!"
Song of Autumn I
In this poem, Baudelaire uses many examples of symbolism to show death and life throughout the poem. The poem is about a man who has lost touch with humanity and has given up on life. He shows that the man is truly just walking through life, "my heart will only be a red and frozen block." The phrase, "As if they were hastily nailing a coffin today. For whom? -- Yesterday was summer. Now autumn knocks. That mysterious sound is like someone's going away," is a metaphor for the man and how he doesn't even realize he could easily die without his awareness.
Interesting facts about Baudelaire
Baudelaire critiqued many famous people's works such as Manet, Poe, Delacroix, Wagner, Nadar, and much more.
He had a very interesting relationship with his mother where he always tried to win over her affection and approval.
Baudelaire's stepfather wanted him to find a career in law.
He was brough to trial in 1857 for being offense to public and religious morals.
Baudelaire's finances were supervised after he obtained his father's inheritance.
He was forced to delete six poems from The Flowers of Evil and had to pay a fine as well.
"Everything that is beautiful and noble is a product of reason and calculation" -Charles Baudelaire
Secondary Sources on Charles Baudelaire
http://fleursdumal.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/607
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Fleurs_du_mal
http://www.ibiblio.org/julesverne/articles/strangepoet.htm
http://www.arthistoryunstuffed.com/baudelaire-the-painter-of-modern-life/